After being vacant for more than a year and a half, Gov. David Ige has found someone to fill the “cultural specialist” seat on the Hawaii Community Development Authority.

Ige appointed Beau Bassett, a lawyer and filmmaker who is part Native Hawaiian, to serve on the board for a term that would end June 30, 2019.

The governor has also appointed Mary Pat Waterhouse, who was budget director under former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, to serve as an at-large member on HCDA. Her term would end in 2019 as well.

Gov. David Ige, pictured here in December, appointed two people Friday to fill vacancies on the HCDA.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Both appointments are subject to Senate confirmation. The Human Services and Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, has scheduled a public hearing on both appointments for April 16.

The two appointments, if confirmed, would fill the remaining vacancies on the board. In February, the Senate confirmed 11 nominations.

The Legislature voted last year to shake up HCDA after Kakaako residents opposed decisions to approve several luxury high-rise towers.